I've read that some people have gotten their accounts shutdown for doing this by Chase (and I believe American Express). I also think some people have done it and gotten away with it. I think you are clearly trying to take advantage of the "system" doing what you proposed (i.e. avoiding the service ...

Let’s say a rental needs maintenance actions to resolve heat/ac, plumbing, leak, etc. issues. Can a tenant refuse to pay rent until those maintenance actions are performed? It depends. On the jurisdiction if it allows this. On the severity of the problem (is the place still safe/habitable). On the ...

You say you have a large 401k and that has enough exposure to the market. Ask yourself this: If someone could guarantee you 4.625% return on your 200k while your home value (hopefully) continues to grow, would you do it? I'd pay off the mortgage and get that guaranteed 4.625% return. Just to be cle...

You say you have a large 401k and that has enough exposure to the market. Ask yourself this: If someone could guarantee you 4.625% return on your 200k while your home value (hopefully) continues to grow, would you do it? I'd pay off the mortgage and get that guaranteed 4.625% return. Just to be cle...

make gold chain and silverware. Gold is the pretty. Silver is good for to make utensil. Just an FYI: we have a bunch of silverware (silver plate). I brought it to the place where I sell my silver coins now. They pay whatever the base metal is worth......so close to nothing. Obviously the first pers...

Cusco has amazing hiking, but highly recommend steering clear of Macchu Picchu and doing basically anything else--I did Choquequirao and Inca Trail/Macchu Picchu and highly recommend the former. It's also super cheap and there's no need to book hotels in advance of your stay really. In fact may be ...

Your title should be PSA: Don't buy a McMansion. I shudder thinking about living in one of those cookie cutter soul sucking cathedrals of urban sprawl. My friends parents moved from a great house to a full on McMansion in his freshman year of college right on the frontier of the sprawl in our city....

A good looking watch! If you can afford it, why not? People disapproving are hypocrites. It is highly likely they are driving a car that is not the cheapest available, yet all cars get one from point a to b. However, I have no input to the specifics of that (or any) watch brand. I'm not sure the an...

You won't actually get $900 million or whatever amount they advertise. They'll discount the annual payments to present value if you take a lump sum. Then you'll pay income taxes (37% Federal plus state and local, if any). They may not withhold the full amount but you'll still have to pay it. It's u...

I consume around 235,000 gallons of water per year. How are you using so much water? ~19,500 gallons a month? Showers and lawn watering mostly. I have a shower with 6 heads. My showers typically last 40-60 minutes. Very relaxing and cheaper than regular massages. I water my lawn daily. It looks fab...

We are in the market for a new truck. We have a local dealership where we service and purchase our vehicles. We are looking for a particular vehicle, but we are not seeing it on their lot. Has anyone ordered a vehicle before? How does the process work. Is there any room for negotiation with 2019 ve...

Amazon just raised the minimum wage for its employees, about 250,000 affected workers, to $15 an hour. The company said it would also lobby Washington to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been set at $7.25 for almost a decade. As I remember the story, Henry Ford decided to pay his workers m...

What are your reasons for choosing those portfolios saying they will likely return the same or higher return (at least as good) as the 90/10 portfolio? Partly I chose my examples to illustrate that the "Buffet Portfolio" is just two Vanguard funds held in an arbitrary allocation. This was an excuse...

What are your reasons for choosing those portfolios saying they will likely return the same or higher return (at least as good) as the 90/10 portfolio? Partly I chose my examples to illustrate that the "Buffet Portfolio" is just two Vanguard funds held in an arbitrary allocation. This was an excuse...

What do y'all make of the advice Warren Buffets suggests? 90%-- S&P 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) 10%-- Short-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares (VFIRX) It's a great portfolio! There are many other portfolios that are at least as good. What are your reasons for choosing those portfolios sayi...

What do y'all make of the advice Warren Buffets suggests? 90%-- S&P 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) 10%-- Short-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares (VFIRX) It's a great portfolio! Contrary to opinions here, Buffett suggests that this is a great allocation for anyone to use. He added the comment...

Are you paying for schooling? If yes, you can have some control -- you can cut funds. If no, she's an adult and you can't really do anything. It sounds like this behavior is "normal" since you said this is how she behaved in high school, why would it be different now? How do you know she is skipping...

I started to read The Snowball - all 900 pages. The first chapter was a little rough to get going but I am keeping an open mind. I have read Lowenstein’s Buffett so I am not sure how much difference 900 pages will make.

Hi everyone, I was discussing with a friend recently about investments strategies, more particularly in a world with limited future growth prospects and I would like to have your opinion. So let's make the assumption that Long term growth at the global level is limited or non-existent (given the sc...

Are stocks highly valued? willthrill81: There are many ways to value stocks. It doesn't matter to me. I avoid market-timing and stay-the-course. Best wishes. Taylor +1 I've determined I cannot accurately value stocks nor predict markets, that is what attracted me to indexing. It is a great strategy...

I've read a lot of opinions on the forums claiming that unleveraged real estate returns are comparable to stock market returns and others claiming that unleveraged real estate returns are just barely a notch above inflation and that all of the stock-like return comes from the leverage. Obviously th...

Also, what's all this about most people buy with rebates. Really? I thought nowadays, most carriers require you to buy the phone outright (either in cash or equal payments for the full value), and the days of getting a deal if you sign up for 1 or 2 years is pretty much gone. She won't be switching...

They're the most valuable company on the planet for a reason! $1100 for a smart phone is just ludicrous for a lot of people. That's MacBook territory. I'm interested to see if the "cheapo" version (iPhone Xr: $750) sells better. Lots of consumer psychology in how to choose. I think for quite a few,...

This would apply to me...I use my phone for everything and don't even have a home computer any more. The only time I need a computer is when at work using my work computer. I have a 6s that still works but when the time comes I will probably get the X max of whatever year it happens to be...I use m...

But isnt the Avalon just a Camry with nicer trim? Nope, it's significantly larger. I guess size does matter? Just for some perspective: The interior volume of a Avalon is 102.9 a Camry is 99.3 so the Avalon is 3.6% larger on the inside. Avalon is 2% longer and 0.5% wider. This is significant? The X...

Most electronics get cheaper over time: Cameras, TV's, Computers, etc. Apple is trying to reinvent the wheel and most people don't need these features (AR and Facial Recognition/Animojis). Same with cars to some degree with the overkill safety and tech features. I want quality and aesthetics but mo...

They're the most valuable company on the planet for a reason! $1100 for a smart phone is just ludicrous for a lot of people. That's MacBook territory. I'm interested to see if the "cheapo" version (iPhone Xr: $750) sells better. Lots of consumer psychology in how to choose. I think for quite a few,...

But for-profit colleges are often nose-bleed expensive, because while they have incentives to keep costs down, they have no incentive to actually deliver a quality education in exchange for their fees. Is not the "incentive" to deliver on a quality education so others will be attracted to enroll? T...

Buffet does not time "the market", nor does he ever buy "the market" He is a value investor who buys companies when he thinks they trade below his idea of their intrinsic value. Additionally, he concentrates his investments which indicates he does not buy "the market" When he has spoken of buying "...

But there is no sense in ignoring expected returns. To stubbornly "stay the course" is-- assuming you use expected returns for financial planning, which, really, you should/must-- to basically say "I'm going to shoot for the outlier outcome in equities where we beat return expectations instead of t...

The economic fundamentals of US equities are such that they are mathematically likely to return less than bonds over the next 10 years. No. They. Are. Not. You cannot assign any significant mathematical likelihood to a Random Walk. That is the root of your problem and the reason why you are seeking...

Am I dreaming? In yesterday's hour 3 call, a caller owed $6800 on a car that is worth $5000. The car needed a new engine that would cost ~$1300. I listened to this twice to make sure I heard this correctly, but DR actually suggested taking a $2000 loan to cover the negative car equity, and another ...

Because unless you're going to 100% equities, the 3% real I-bonds are likely better bonds than any other bond options you can buy today. And since you can't 'sell' the Ibonds on the open market where you would get a premium for the 3% real rate, but instead only redeem them, you would not be compen...

He's been doing a lot of that in this thread. He is clearly trolling. No not trolling. Pointing out contradictions being made. My only position is that stocks are likely better investments than I-bonds for the very long term 30+ years. I'm just engaging with people who disagree with that. I'm very ...

I have some shares of VTSAX that have an annualized 10% return for the last 10 years. I'd trade in those 3% Ibonds for some VTSAX. Bonds are a terrible long-term investment relative to equities . Trade in those Ibonds and "lock up" some VTSAX shares. :moneybag Fantastic advice if you can teleport m...

He's been doing a lot of that in this thread. He is clearly trolling. No not trolling. Pointing out contradictions being made. My only position is that stocks are likely better investments than I-bonds for the very long term 30+ years. I'm just engaging with people who disagree with that. I'm very ...

Interesting opinion you have. That over the long run Ibonds are a better investment than stocks. However, your second sentence is something that: (a) I did not say, (b) that I don't necessarily agree with. I only said that selling ALL ones ibonds RIGHT now to buy all stocks is terrible advice. That...

The use of maybe doesn’t suggest I believe I bonds will outperform or that equities will outperform. It means “it’s anyones guess”. Right, I believe I gave that disclaimer before asking your opinion when I stated: "I know the future cannot be accurately predicted, that being said, I'm curious:" -- ...